More
often than not we have seen calm and composed elephants in the Hindu
temples of southern India in particular Kerala and Tamil Nadu states and occasional street elephants begging money from the
fear-stricken shop-keepers on command from their masters - Mahouts.

As the circus companies are gradually disappearing because of higher
maintenance costs, enforcement of animal laws, etc, we do not see elephants
nowadays in such entertainment houses. When I was a kid, at the Circus, a
major attraction 50 years ago, I saw elephants doing all kinds of
tricks, riding a huge tri-cycle, playing foot ball, dancing with dainty
foot steps that might challenge a ballerina from the Baltic
state, writing some numbers with a chalk-piece on the black-board, etc. It
was fun watching a huge animal doing various tasks effortlessly upon
commands from the Ankusha - wielding Mahouts. Never had we thought about
the intense training program the big jumbo had been put through before
becoming well trained to do such tricks with dexterity. In reality, these
beautiful animals designed by God to live in the wilderness, went
through horrors in the name of training.

If
we think that these animals would have gone through normal animal
training program in which psychology is used to make the animals obey
the commands by giving reward for each act, we are absolutely wrong.
Among the animals, elephants undergo the worst and cruel treatment that may
make your heart bleed and your blood boil.

Heartless and selfish man wants to use elephants'
intelligence and strength to perform difficult task for him. Being away
from their natural habitat, the the trained elephants are continuously chained,
fed unhygienic food and given inadequate water far below their daily intake. No regular bathing and
dusting of their skin to protect it from UV rays. Deprived of their natural surrounding, the new
unfriendly cramped environment makes the elephants uncomfortable and
they are mentally stressed. Wounds in the legs because of friction of rough chain on
the skin, skin burns, eye burns, etc., are not well taken care of and these giant animals stoically bear them. The
pre - training problems are part of an elephant across Asia and
elsewhere.

The
quite shocking one is, in the name of training or domestication, elephants are exposed to a variety of cruel and disgusting methods to
subdue them. The widely practiced method in SE Asia is called Elephant Crushing, or a training crush ( also called the 'kraal'). It is nothing but the worst form of
cruelty inflicted on the animal for selfish motive. In order to tame the freshly caught wild elephants, the trainers keep them in a
narrow make-shift well-built cage or stall with limited space with
legs tied and the trunk (proboscis) movements restricted. They use a
variety of corporal punishment or negative reinforcement that may shun the devils in the Hades.
The sharp spikes are driven into their heads or heated nails are dug into the
most sensitive parts of their huge bodies. They undergo excruciating, unbearable pain. Further, Jumbos are tied with strong
ropes to keep the elephant from moving, kicking, raising or swinging their head. This method is
supposed to crush the elephant's spirit. Many trainers say this method will
subdue them, make them adjust to the new environment and learn the basic commands “Still!” or “Quiet!”.

In the case of an elephant, born in captivity is brought up among human
beings and its training is humane from the day it begins; whereas a wild
beast parted from the herd and its mother must suffer agonies before its
will is broken.

In Thailand, where elephant poaching is not under
control the new poor elephants fresh out of the wilderness are then
often put through a process of beatings to "mentally break" them " - phajaan"), to make them submissive for the lucrative business -
entertaining tourists in tourist parks. This practice off
Phajaan (crushing of elephants' spirit) in Thailand is condemned by a
variety of animal welfare groups as a form of animal cruelty.

According to National Geographic reports stabbing into the ears and feet of an elephant using of nails and sticks is followed in Thailand. Other reports point out to "break" the elephant and make them submissive to their owners,
the trainers resort to beatings with sticks, chains or bull hooks,
sleep-deprivation, hunger, and thirst. With exceptions, for most
elephant training centers, corporal punishment seems to be the main
forte. As far back as 1970s, countries like the USA used corporal punishment and negative reinforcement to train wild elephants. Later a new method called protected contact or non-dominance is used in modern
zoos. This techniques involves giving rewards, not punishment to encourage the
behavior of the animal to the target behavior. Psychology-based method is harmless and lasting, but it is time consuming.

badly wounded temple elephant, Kerala www.telegraph.co.uk

Though Elephants hold an important place in Indian culture as we can see captive elephants in numerous temples, these caparisoned, well decorated iconic creatures add zest to the temple festivals especially in Kerala state. An elephant is considered an embodiment of lord Ganesha, who is revered across the country. Behind this extravaganza and publicity bonanza at many temples, there lies an hidden streak of unimaginable cruelty. Many temples own elephants and some get the elephants through a broker. Renting elephants is a money spinning business, but their health and welfare are compromised. So, the trained elephants also suffer the same agony as before when they were put through harsh training. Commonly speaking with many exceptions, many temple mahouts are heartless and treat the elephants badly and the temple authorities do not take serious action against them. During the Musth cycle, as the Nature has it, the bull elephant is normally aggressive and violent, needing the company of a female elephant. The Mahouts starve these bulls and do not give enough food and water for a few months to reduce their aggressive nature. Every year, this routine is followed.

The Indian Animal Welfare Board admits many temples have no control over the mahouts who treat the animals badly. So in God's place, the elephants are on pillory with mahouts holding a tough bullwhip in one hand and red hot spike in the other hand to tame the majestic denizens of the jungle.

Ref: Gone
Astray - The Care and Management of the Asian Elephant in Domesticity
Richard C Lair, Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations
(FAO), October 1997, ISBN 974-89472-3-8

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I am KN.Jayaraman, Retd Geologist, author of this blog. I have a strong passion for Ancient Indian Culture, art, architecture, etc...
I started this blog with a view to covering the above areas and also odd things related to India.
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